I answered the door yesterday and found a young man, similar to the one in the photo. He had a large black bag slung on his shoulder and he started to tell me that he was "on a rehabilitation programme".
I asked him :
"OK. What are you selling ?"
He returned to his theme that I could help him 'stay on the straight and narrow'.
I told him : "You are a charming young man but no thanks."
At this point he revealed his true colours when he informed me that he "wasn't here to be charming."
He reminded me of a similar young male doorstep seller who ended by begging me to buy something from him with his plea of "please ! please!"
What both these young men had in common in trying to get me and other old men to buy something we don't need, was to appeal to our conscience and convince us that by not buying we were doing something which would not help them to be good citizens and so we were not being good citizens ourselves. It's a clever ruse and I wonder how many old people had been caught with this ?
A 'Google' search of 'doorstep sale men and old people' revealed :
* Sandra Adams is warning vulnerable people to beware after her elderly parents aged 87 and 84 were visited by a door-to-door salesman who persuaded them to buy a £1,800 reclining chair, designed especially to help people who are old or disabled.
Their daughter fears they may never get their chair or the money back.
* The 'Office of Fair Trading' has joined forces with 'Age UK' to promote awareness of rogue traders that often approach the vulnerable on their doorstep and convince them to have home improvement work done.
Services director at Age UK Helena Herkloats said:
"Although crime against older people is less likely than other age groups, rogue doorstep traders often target those who are older or more vulnerable, so it's important to be aware of the risks."
* BBC NEWS ... Warning over doorstep salesmen. salesman at door selling to a ... Unfortunately older people tend to be polite and give people the time of ...
* Clampdown on doorstep sales ... We have examples where salesmen have preyed upon old peoples' fears to sell ... doorstep selling and give older people greater protection. ...* Energy Doorstep Selling Must be Banned, says TSI ...Worryingly salesmen from utility companies even appear to ignore signs in ... said: 'Unsolicited doorstep selling can be a real worry for older people. ...
* Unfair Trading Practices - Angus Council. A doorstep salesman scares elderly people into buying a burglar alarm system. ... that his old aerial was perfectly suitable to receive digital signals. ...
What a sad country Britain has become.
I made a posting on Rogue Traders preying on old people in June last year :
http://britainisnocountryforoldmen.blogspot.com/2010/06/britain-is-country-awash-with-rogue.html
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